This park is a great little local gem right off of route 81 in La Fayette NY. It is never crowded,…read morewhich was a relief during covid life, and has literally everything you would need for a fun day in the park. Tennis courts, two sports field areas, giant pavilion with picnic tables, bathrooms, track, pond (i have seen people fishing), grilling areas, playground areas, swingsets and my personal favorite (but I have yet to use it!) is the little circuit workout area with different stations and descriptions of workouts to do. It has three separate loops of paved areas for walking; two around the sports fields/playground and one around the pond area. Everyone is always friendly, the bathrooms are clean enough for a park. We absolutely love it here. Highly recommend!

Family park with shelters real nice park for kids places to cook out or play tennisread more

A few blocks from my hotel was this park. I decided after going about the day and seeing the sights…read moreI wanted to see, it was time to just leisurely walk around. What better place to do it than at a park. Especially one that has so much to offer. When I arrived I came at this park from the intersection of Madison & Ostrom. When I came here it was bit off putting to me as it was where the intersection was a bit wonky that allowed for vehicular to enter the park. So you needed to watch while you walking that no traffic was coming, or just walk about the grass, which is what I did. Being from out of town I had no idea what this park had to offer overall but I did do a lot of exploring which led me to a lot of different areas. I first just walked through the fields and along the tree lines. I backtracked a bit and stumbled upon the pool area. From there, I found the amphitheater and hung around there for a bit. After that, I found the football field and saw a lot of people using it for multiple reasons. From exercising, playing with their dogs, flying drones and many other things. I ended my time in the park at the rose garden. Roses were still coming into bloom, but I didn't mind that. I looked around at the different varieties of roses they had planted. I then sat on a bench for a few minutes to just take in this portion of the park. When I left, I was off towards Syracuse University campus. This park is enormous, and I am glad I was able to spend some time here.

Sometimes I'll take my dog for little road trips to new parks (driving an hour or two from home),…read moreand Thornden Park is one we've been to a couple times. It's a really nice, open park with lots of space to walk around. I do wish they had some sidewalks or something along the roads going up or down the hills, but that's one of the few issues I can think of. The park is maintained well, has a lovely rose garden (one of my friends volunteers here regularly, actually, which is how I found out about the park - they have a "Rose Day" in mid-June to celebrate, and I'm told that timing is mainly because that's when the roses are usually at their peak), and lots of fun features - like the amphitheater area, where my dog was especially interested in watching some folks who were preparing for a summer play. There's a pool area as well, tennis courts, concession area, and so on... and my pup especially seemed to love rolling down the hills just below the Thornden Park Water Tower (pictures included in this review, of course). It's worth noting that I *have* had a couple slightly sketchy experiences here... including one time being followed around by another park goer who seemed to be experiencing some mental health issues. As with anywhere, just be mindful of your surroundings.

Great shaded trails. There are lots of options to walk around affording great views. Home to a rare…read moreendangered fern you can find lots of gems here. There is a fun nature themed playground for the kids. Various shelters to sit down and have a picnic. A nature center that offers programs. I would say most trails have various inclines and they aren't exactly accessible for wheelchairs. There is one gravel trail that might work better for strollers and wheelchairs.

I love this place! I've been here so many times…read more I've been on almost all of the trails except for the Swamp Trail. It was super muddy last time I was here, otherwise I would've gone on it. There are very scenic outlooks over the lake and over the cliff. The trails are pretty well laid out. Even when it's busy the trails aren't too packed. I would definitely come back here again for more hiking!

My sister and I came here for the first time. When we went to the counter to get our skates, both…read morethe employees were sitting on their phones, not bothering to look up. Eventually when they did, they were rolling their eyes at us, giving us dirty looks, and giving us attitude. When we told them our skate sizes, they reacted like grabbing us skates was the biggest inconvenience for them, with a dramatic sigh from one of them, and a nasty dirty look/side eye from the other girl.

Amazing park that we found just by a nearby google search, and I'm so glad we did! Great play…read moreequipment, benches and a shallow stream for kids to play in. Absolutely perfect! There are bathrooms if you keep driving to the end (past the park) at the athletic center-- you're welcome. :)

This place was so much fun! I was looking for a new spot to hit up some trails. I'm so glad that I…read morefound this park! There is a baseball field here, picnic tables, quiet trails, etc. I would definitely come back here!

This park is a beautiful space for walking and also viewing nature. On Labor Day, there were many…read morepeople. However, I found one could separate by leaving the main path and sitting on a bench. There is also a parallel path for riding bikes. Four trails are listed on their website. Many rent bikes, inline skates or quadricycles for 2-4 people. The historic plaques are informative, and signal that this is land formerly of the Onondaga. One occasionally sees boats on the lake. There is a great playground for children, which accommodates the disabled. Don't miss the ice cream truck in front during the summer! This is a great park for all seasons. Enjoy visiting!

Pretty decent place to chill alot of fine lookin females runnin around the lake. There was a dude…read moresellin hot dogs it was pretty dope just off his grill but i mean arent they all. Only downside i guess is alot of park rangers and cops. Some feel safe probably but not when i got some bud in my pocket lmao im tryna enjoy nature dont discriminate but too crowded 4 that

Quiet little outdoor spot. There are better outdoor spaces to choose from, but this isn't bad.read more

No dogs allowed, probably because people didn't clean up, but I still see dogs with those who don't…read morefollow the rules. Stop deleting my review.

$6 entrance fee. Park has beach access to Oneida lake. Swimming is available during the summer…read more Lots of places to hang out and bbq or have family reunions, picnics or just a birthday party for groups of all sizes. Ample parking for most days. Sometimes in the summer months there is blue-green algae which causes the swimming area to be closed. Website normally will indicate this so check ahead if you are set on going swimming. This summer they had an inflatable slide so there was something for the kiddos to do besides swimming. All in all a nice park if you are in the area. Camping is available as well so you can camp out here and spend more time if that is in your plan.

I recently went on a weekend long camping trip with my father and stayed at the Verona Beach State…read morePark in upstate New York. My pops, who is now retired, purchased a recreational vehicle and has embraced camping as his new favorite past time. He has asked me several times to join him on an excursion and though I'm not very outdoorsy I finally relented. We pulled into Verona State Park on a Friday afternoon and even though it was early September and nearing the end of the season, the campground was still fairly crowded. The snack bar and store closed after Labor Day but I spent most of my time at the nearby Turning Stone Casino and didn't mind missing out on a few amenities. The park was immaculate, with clean shower rooms and nary a piece of litter in sight. The employees at Verona Beach obviously took their job very seriously and some were a tad overzealous. The workers frequently drove through the campgrounds, patrolling the area and enforcing their rules. I took a walk alongside Oneida Lake after dark and apparently violated one of the sacred rules, receiving a stern warning from the park ranger. I understand why camps only allow power generators during certain hours; gennies can often be noisy and we should preserve the sanctity of nature. On Saturday night we were caught in the middle of a thunderstorm and it rained for hours. I expected the rangers to be a little more lax on generator hours during the storm, when most campers are stuck inside and need electric to power their televisions and stave off boredom. The television in our RV only picked up local channels so we watched an old episode of Wonder Woman featuring special guest star Leif Garrett. Even during a downpour the rangers at Verona State ruled with an iron first, banging on the door of the RV like an angry police officer all because our generator was left on for a few extra minutes.